This year's theme for the Met Gala was one of Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology. When interviewed at the event Zayn Malik said of his outfit:

“A lot of starting references for me are technology and Prince. I’m conscious in the back of my head, of how he was sort of bold and fearless in the way he decided to dress. He created another world with the clothes he wore, and it gave him an otherworldly feel, which is all part of his legend, I guess. I was really upset with the fact that he passed away. But it’s nice that we can use things now to portray what inspired us about him. That was kind of what I was doing at the Met Ball… being fearless. But I was just having fun.”